Critical thinking in research applications means becoming information literate. Critical thinkers know where to look for information, how to synthesize it and use it to solve problems. Answering a research question can turn into a lifetime endeavor in the absence of a disciplined process of using all available information. Becoming information literate means becoming an informed consumer of information. Just as you would not rely strictly on the word of a salesman in buying a car, in research, a critical thinker knows to rely upon a variety of reliable information sources.
Critical thinking is crucial to all stages of research applications. The first step in research is identifying the question. For example, a researcher cannot approach an overly broad topic. Without using critical thinking to develop a research question on crime, a scholar would be directionless in where to start looking for information. Disciplined and purposeful thinking guides the researcher to useful information sources.
Purposeful research generates a lot of information, however, not all of the information gathered is useful for answering the question. Disciplined thought is key to making connections between information, eliminating redundant facts and assessing contrary sources of information. Using the example of crime research where the research question is on recent trends in homicide rates, a critical thinker looks at both official statistics and victimization surveys to supplement the statistics. The surveys provide possible explanations for isolated, but notable variances in the statistics.
Critical thinking allows a researcher to compile information into a report presenting his unique answer to the question using the research information to support the answer. For example, answering the question of why homicide rates declined over a certain period of time involves presenting statistical, victimization and other research data in a manner convincing the reader to draw the same conclusions. If the scholar concludes the decline was related to a decrease in gang activity, he would provide statistical data and other research in a logical and informed fashion so the reader concludes there is a relationship.